Victor Gutwein is attempting to build a firm that will be known as the ideal co-investor for venture capitalists looking to back Midwestern companies.

One of the youngest heads of a venture firm in Chicago, he's using his relative inexperience to chart a slightly different course. He first experienced venture capital as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, when he participated in a student-run venture fund. After college, he spent a few years in corporate strategy roles at Claire's and Walgreens, and went on to raise his first fund from friends and family.

Unlike traditional firms that focus on a few promising companies, 2-year-old M25 invests the same amount in a number of companies.

M25 doesn't typically lead rounds, so Gutwein needs to build relationships with other firms. He acknowledged that his youth — and his firm's — might elicit hesitation from potential partners, so he works hard to network and market M25.

Every month, Gutwein sends an email to more than 200 investors across the country laying out the deals M25 is considering.

"That's something that most people would hold really close, traditionally," he said. "We want to be as helpful as we can so that … when you're leading a round or you see a deal, maybe you'll call M25."

Gutwein said it also helps to show other VCs how active the firm is. He likes to tell other investors and companies that the firm has done 38 investments in two years. These days, it's putting $100,000 each into about two Midwestern companies a month from its $11 million fund, he said. Almost half of those investments are in Chicago-based companies; it has invested in Realync, Page Vault, Dabble and KnowledgeHound, among others.

He's aiming to ultimately raise a larger fund to continue investing in the Midwest.

"I just think this is a land of opportunity right here," said the Rensselaer, Ind., native.

Coming Monday: How Michael Sachaj of Hyde Park Angels made the switch from consulting for the likes of Booz Allen to vetting venture deals.